Ghana and Thailand are exploring expanded bilateral cooperation in labour mobility, agriculture and trade, following a meeting between Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and Thailand’s Ambassador-Designate to Ghana, Thirapath Mongkolnavin.
The discussions took place when Mr Ablakwa received the Open Letters of the Thai Ambassador-Designate, who is resident in Abuja, Nigeria.
During the engagement, Mr Ablakwa encouraged Thailand to consider establishing a permanent diplomatic mission in Ghana to strengthen diplomatic relations and facilitate deeper economic cooperation between the two countries.
He said Ghana was ready to explore a Labour Mobility Agreement with Thailand, citing the country’s young population and pool of trained professionals whose expertise could be made available to partner countries.
The minister pointed to Ghana’s ongoing efforts to pursue similar arrangements with countries in the Caribbean as a model for potential cooperation with Thailand.
He also highlighted Ghana’s interest in securing partner-country status with BRICS, expressing the country’s desire to draw on Thailand’s experience in that regard.
For his part, Mr Mongkolnavin highlighted Thailand’s Africa Initiative, which seeks to strengthen partnerships with countries across the continent.
He described Ghana as an important partner and expressed Thailand’s readiness to work with the country to identify areas of mutual interest.
The Ambassador-Designate also proposed establishing a formal framework for political consultations between the two countries through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Agriculture, particularly rice production, was identified as another area with significant potential for collaboration.
Mr Mongkolnavin proposed the sharing of rice farming techniques and expertise to support cooperation in the agricultural sector.
He also acknowledged the contribution of Thai companies operating in Ghana, noting that many of them employ Ghanaian nationals.
The proposed areas of cooperation are expected to provide a basis for strengthening diplomatic, economic and technical relations between Ghana and Thailand.
